Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowskis, 2015)

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Trailers for Upcoming Films

#2 Post by domino harvey » Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:58 pm

That trailer's turned me into Jeff Goldblum. What, uh, what's going on with the, uh, the makeup there?


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Professor Wagstaff
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Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#4 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:07 am

Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas were both fiercely ambitious films, but not necessarily the most accessible for general audiences. Hopefully this change doesn't reflect the quality of the film and more that Jupiter Ascending is an idiosyncratic film that will stand a better chance in a less crowded season.


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Valin Kenobi
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Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#6 Post by Valin Kenobi » Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:00 am

Cloud Atlas and The Matrix are some of my favorite sci-fi pictures, so I want to like this, but it just looks like a mess. Like a YA adaptation. The visuals are gorgeous, but it feels like too many genre elements trying to be crammed into one picture. And that Space Elf makeup on Channing Tatum? *shakes head*

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#7 Post by jindianajonz » Thu Feb 26, 2015 1:53 pm

I've seen a few people put this film in best of 2015 lists, and was curious of anybody wanted to offer a good defense of it. I've always enjoyed the Wachowskis even if I wouldn't call their films masterpieces, but this one didn't click for me. Aside from some of the cringe inducing dialogue during the 'romantic' scenes, so much of the movie felt rushed. Unlike Neo who took a full movie to understand the workings of the Matrix, Jupiter immediately takes to this new environment much too easily, to the point where she can quote galactic law only hours after she was taken from earth. This new film also pales to the Matrix franchise in the actions scenes, with the wonderful (if CGI dependent) coreography being replaced with run of the mill Bayhem, complete with shaky camera movements and quick edits that obscure what is actually happening in a fight.

The films biggest failing, however, is that despite their attempt to build a new and exciting world, everything on screen feels as hollow as a 90's era RPG. We see opulent palaces inhabited by a variety of races, but we have no sense where these people come from or that their world goes past the rooms they are currently inhabiting. We see Jupiter get funneled through a bureaucratic chain of colorful and racially diverse receptionists, but for all we know these people shut down like Disneyland animatrons as soon as they finish serving the protagonists of the world. Almost everything on screen feels like a knock-off of some other more successful franchise, be it the Hunger Games style wedding dress, the Frozone "walking on air" bit that Tatum employs with his magic space boots, the aforementioned bureaucratic jaunt that would probably feel more at home in Diagon Alley or the Hellboy universe, and even the rotating mechano-galactic title font, which I know I've seen but can't quite place (the actual font style is similar to the Golden Compass, but I know I've seen letters spinning like clockwork somewhere else!)

I hate to be so critical of the film and really wanted the Wachowskis to have a hit after the underwhelming reception to Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas, but I'm not finding much worth defending in this one.

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matrixschmatrix
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 11:26 pm

Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#8 Post by matrixschmatrix » Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:34 pm

I mean, so many of your criticisms are taste based that they're difficult to argue with- I found the action engaging, the dialogue was fine, the visuals really gorgeous, and the pacing (which absolutely is more one damn thing after another than necessarily an elegant edifice of a structure) worked perfectly well for me.

I think overall, I don't see it as a world that is dependent on worldbuilding in the way a Star Wars or a Lord of the Rings is- it's a proletarian fairy tale, a story about capitalist space vampires and about people managing to pull a victory out from an incomprehensible and horrible civilization in part by denying its values- and while it certain does quote other movies a lot, I thought that was a useful way to make what might otherwise be an overwhelming amount of _stuff_ being thrown at you cohere. It's fun, and to me the surface level self seriousness (as with The Matrix, there are maybe two actual jokes in the whole thing) makes the ridiculousness of it that much more likable. Like, I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy as well, but it's a nice change of pace to have a movie like that where the characters aren't all quipping and kidding all the time.

The thing that I thought it best compared to is actually Pacific Rim, another movie dependent both on an audience that's willing to cheer when something crazy happens, and (as Del Toro put it) eye protein- like eye candy, but it actually is the substance of the thing. And the title font, with its whirring gears and so forth, felt quite reminiscent of several of Del Toro's obsessions to me.

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Antarctica
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Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#9 Post by Antarctica » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:42 pm

I thought this film deserved better ratings than it received -- 26% on Rotten Tomatoes. For me, it wasn't memorable in the way the Matrix was. I just saw it, but probably won't remember it well like the Matrix. I agree that Jupiter seemed underwhelmed, and many of the elements are borrowed from other films, but overall it was visually rich, fun, and impressive how the various elements were stitched together.

I wonder about the bad reviews. Are popular audiences resistant to original films, and prefer remakes and films based on established comic book characters? Did they find Jupiter unlikeable? I thought Jupiter had a good heart, but her gullibility and lack of intelligence could make her seem unlikeable. I have no problem watching such a character, but maybe popular audiences lack patience for characters like her. I'm not confident in these views, but am simply proposing possible reasons why the film was so poorly reviewed. I am curious to read what others think of these theories.

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Trees
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Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#10 Post by Trees » Thu Dec 31, 2015 8:20 pm

To me the film is pretty mediocre. I feel bad for Wachowskis, who really seem to be struggling since Matrix II. I thought parts of Cloud Atlas were great, like Neo Seoul, but it was kind of a mess overall. I hope they can regroup and come back strong.

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carmilla mircalla
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:47 pm

Re: Jupiter Ascending (The Wachowski Siblings, 2015)

#11 Post by carmilla mircalla » Thu Dec 31, 2015 8:32 pm

Trees wrote:To me the film is pretty mediocre. I feel bad for Wachowskis, who really seem to be struggling since Matrix II. I thought parts of Cloud Atlas were great, like Neo Seoul, but it was kind of a mess overall. I hope they can regroup and come back strong.
I just don't think they have anything else in them idea-wise. Their first two movies (Bound and The Matrix) still stand as their best work with The Matrix being an exceptional example of a movie holding up 16 years later (watched it, again recently, the opening alone blew me away like it never had before). I think once they agreed to do the sequels that's where staked all their creativity. They've been stuck in a sci-fi cycle ever since and I think it's obvious that they've run the well dry with the genre after the first Matrix. I honestly think they were meant for other genres and could have done great but I don't think they'll ever branch out.

Also, I just want to throw in my two cents about Cloud Atlas. Only ever saw it once but I think it is an example of some of the worst editing in existence especially since it was trying to juggle all those timelines/stories. It was awful not even trying to follow it all but giving just enough energy to even be interested in wanting to follow it.

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